Scottish patients are facing longer delays to see their GPs and one in five
are unable to get an appointment within two days, according to an official
survey.

The research, prepared for SNP ministers, found there has been a steady fall over the last two years in the number of people able to consult a doctor or nurse within 48 hours.

This means thousands of Scots are unable to speedily get a doctor’s appointment. According to the survey, around one in six people find it difficult to even get through to their local surgery on the telephone.

There was also dissatisfaction with the quality of out-of-hours care, including the service provided by phone line NHS 24, with more than one in ten people describing it as “poor or very poor”.

The Tories said the survey of 145,569 patients’ experiences of the Scottish NHS showed that ministers were failing to meet their official target that patients should be able to see their doctor within two days.

Jackson Carlaw, the party’s health spokesman, said: “This survey of patients – who will know best about the availability of their local doctor – shows this is simply not happening.”

The Patient Experience Survey of GP and Local NHS Services for 2011/12 said difficulties in seeing a doctor had worsened by five percentage points since its most recent report was published two years ago.

Twenty per cent of respondent, more than 29,000 people, said they could not book an appointment with their GP three or more working days in advance.

Of those unable to see or speak to a doctor or nurse, almost half (45 per cent) said they were not offered an opportunity to see anyone and 38 per cent said the person they wanted to treat them was not available.

One in four patients did not agree that arrangements to see their doctor were good and eight per cent said their experience was “poor or very poor”.

An international comparison showed it was easier to get a GP appointment and out-of-hours care in the rest of the UK.

The survey’s authors said it was not clear why the situation had deteriorated in Scotland but speculated it may be because doctors do not receive “financial incentives” to meet the 48-hour appointment target.

Dr Dean Marshall, chair of the British Medical Association’s general practice committee, said increasing pressures on their time mean doctors must “balance the number of appointments available in advance and for urgent cases on the day”.

He added: “This means that some patients find it difficult to book a routine appointment with their GP in advance at a time to suit them. “

Miss Sturgeon welcomed that almost nine out of ten patients approve of the care provided by their surgeries but added: “We know that there is always room for improvement.”